When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? What are some of your favorite memories? What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? I first started playing during beta, when my friend told me about this new game I should try. I got hooked right away, it was so so so fun, so community-oriented, so great. I didn't care that getting to second job took the better part of a week. I'm not a huge fan of the fact that it's pretty much accessible in an hour now. Memories include jump-quest racing with aforementioned friend to race and get ores, or hunting green mushrooms to get a f***ing Pan Lid for my mage. I got a 10-def one once and was like OMMGGGG I'M SO PRO. Plus, PQing was great. Kerning PQ for hours (DON'T KILL THE SLIMES AFTER THE BOSS OR YOU'LL GET GARBAGE REWARDS), finding tracks and people with autoclickers...good times. I stopped several years ago, around when Evans and Dual Blades came out. I know the grind is why a lot of people quit, but that didn't bother me much. I would just open Netflix and play and watch at the same time. My real issue was how much of a money-sink the game became. Cubes, hammers that add slots on equips, all that s***. Then, upon realizing that you HAD to pay NX to get skills for Evans, I was like nope, I'm done. Only recently, I decided to try and find a nostalgia-based server without 100000x rates. I guess I sorta answered the last question. 10 out of 10. The game was beautiful, fun, classic, friendly, and overall just a good experience until microtransactions struck. So, yeah, I'm new to the forum, so I don't know if this is the right board for a topic like this. But yeah, discuss your memories and reminisce :3
Don't worry, your thread fits here. This is the section that is closest to spam. Let's get to the MEAT of things then! (Get it? Spam, - Meat?) When: Started playing EMS in school when I really needed something to waste time on. The first update I witnessed was the Cygnus Knights. What: I actually made one friendship that carried over into real life. Also hanging around in Henesys and getting randomly gifted mesos/stuff. What2: I quit the game because I wanted to focus on my final exams. 3 years later and I felt like playing again but too much had changed (Big Bang). So I looked for a private server. Scale: Definitely a 9, there are worse things than cash shop.
Began playing GMS while it was still in beta testing. I was single digits in age then, and I had no idea what I was doing. Still, the fondest, most nostalgic memories I have are of the time before Leafre and fourth jobs. I began playing Private servers just after the release of fourth jobs, and have been ever since. I never liked the direction the game took in terms of gameplay after that point. The Cash Shop was originally a cool idea, cosmetic changes that gave the player no real advantage, and though AP resets were available even then, "HP washing" hadn't really become a term yet. I think the game would have been better off if the only way to get good items was by completing quests and fighting monsters.
When: Started GMS back in v0.03, back when new players got blue eyes, and not brown. Favorite Memories: Definitely exploring the Orbis, El Nath, and Aqua Road maps with my best friend at the time. Made the mistake of going at 70% exp . Also, gotta love the pan lid grind. I used to have bets with other clerics to see who would get one first. Why I switched to private servers: I'm not going to lie, I hated the grind back then; I just wanted to try new skills. I came across a server called DagonMS in 2008 and instantly got hooked. I was so happy I didn't need to grind for a year just to get 6-hit savage blow - and plus, all new players got a gm hat upon joining. Who doesn't like big numbers? Cash Shop: At first it was alright, because all that was available was pretty much football gear and that welding hat. I felt no incentive to get NX simply cause the equips looked like jank. But I agree. I was shocked to see how pay2win GMS had become when I rejoined nearly two years ago, and ironically, there were still notices popping up discouraging people from spending money on in-game gear. I met someone who spent at least one grand gearing up his numerous level 200s (before the level limit got raised).
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)?: When I was 8 years old, so in 2006. (I know, I wasn't allowed to technically!) What are some of your favorite memories?: Hitting Lv. 70 on my DrK, getting 2.1b, first HT and PB runs of Scania, which I was a part of, as well as meeting my (now-)ex-girlfriend there and spending hours and hours of grinding and henehoeing and exploring/questing/bossing with her. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers?: After the Legend patches (v.1.1x), it all was too much for me and the game was nothing like it was before. The game got so easy... I played some private servers before for fun (original RydahMS), but quit gMS entirely in 2012... And joined MapleRoyals almost 2 years later, at the end of 2013 (already been here for over a year!). On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game?: Depends when. When I quit, the pay2win factor was too intense for me. But before that, it wasn't too bad; I almost never bought NX but had a shitton of it, simply due to MTS merching. If you played it right, you could get your hands on tons of NX (I'm talking hundreds of thousands) without spending much on it. I got very funded with some luck and lots of MTS merching, and with the NX I got Miracle Cubes to make myself so strong. So before Chaos, I'd say it wasn't that bad (9), but after that it only for worse progressively.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? May 11th, 2005. I was almost finished with 7th grade, just a couple weeks left, and I was looking forward to playing a summer of Maplestory. What are some of your favorite memories? When even some of the lower levels took longer to get, you always had time for quests, goofing off with friends, and the fun-factor outweighed how much exp/hr you were getting. Tracking down high levels to get a screenshot of them. Especially before 3rd job came out. Seeing 70,80,90+ 2nd jobbers with nothing better than lv. 60 gear... That will always be the most "pro" thing to me. It wasn't a race, at all, back then. It was about having fun. Not about Following strict builds placed in front of you by number-perfectionists. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? The straw that broke the camel's back was them making max level 250... And everything that came with it. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? I give it an 8.5 (10 being the worst) That's when real money came into the game, and it separated the spenders from the nonspenders... added the whole "pay-to-win" factor, and that's when the game slowly started going down hill. I find it to be no coincidence that Summer/Fall of 2005 was the most fun, and there just happened to be no cash shop...
I have to say that reading many of these respondes brings me back some good memories. Like many other games I played, there weren't too many life friends that played MS so I had to make friends via guilds or random encounters through party quests or training.
When: I barely remember... um, probably between my transition from middle to high school, so a good number of years ago. Memories: I could never get past ~35 'cause the grind got reeeeeal intense for me, but I loved hanging out in places and listening to music, doing quests 'n' shit. Straw that broke the camel's back: It was a combination of Evan players requiring the cash shop, the Cygnus Knights being level capped (at the time) at 120, and the game being on complete life support with the Cash Shop. God I hated how Nexon handles their cash shop. Temporary pets and cosmetics, certain classes NEED the cash shop to advance further, and now the game's meta has basically crapped its own bed with all the augmentations you can make to your gear for your numbers to be higher. It's a load of bull, esp. to players who just wanted to play a free 2D MMO. Which is really, REALLY weird because they had at least 2 other games under their belt where the CS was either on the side or completely unnecessary (RIP in peace Rusty Hearts).
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? I was 15, it was around Halloween or maybe a bit before of the year where Amoria was released. So it was 2006. What are some of your favorite memories? Early on was slime tree grinding, of course. Good times. Also, when I got my first character stuck in Orbis. I made enough money to go to Orbis for the quest, but I didn't have enough for a return ticket, and I was only maybe level 15. I asked someone for return ticket money and they gave me some, but I didn't know about the Balrog (he didn't show up on my trip there) so I died and ended up back in Orbis. I felt really bad about asking for more money, so I made a second character to bail my first out of Orbis, but I ended up liking my 2nd one better and stuck with it instead (first was archer, second was mage). Later on, I really liked grinding with my friends on squids. We also would do gobies but my internet was very laggy and I was a mage so if I disconnected, sometimes I'd spawn on the goby house and die and lose many hours worth of EXP. Grinding by myself, however, wasn't fun at all. It was a chore. But I did it every day during my EXP charms. My first time killing any of the bosses is also a good memory. I duoed pianus with my ex. I died a lot but it was okay because we did it right after I leveled. We also duoed papulatus which I really liked because, at a lower level, we had done that boss with 2 other friends, and me and the other mage friend had stuck in the corner and healed ourselves while the other two killed it because we died too fast. So it felt like a real accomplishment when I was able to actually duo the boss without sticking to the side of the room. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I stopped playing right before 4th job came out because I was tired of the grind. People tried to convince me to go back because of the new content but I didn't want to keep wasting money on EXP charms. Now I just play the real game or private servers casually. The real game doesn't feel at all like the game I used to play, though. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? Actually, I think the cash shop is better now (except for the whole "no shared cash shop" between different characters which is complete crap). It used to be impossible to level without cash shop, but now it is relatively easy, so that is an improvement at least. People being required to use cash shop for skills is pretty bad though. But I'd rather be required to use cash shop for skills than to be required to use it to level up.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? I played KMS shortly after it released and moved to GMS Beta the day it opened. What are some of your favorite memories? Spending hours/days at the top of HHG1 hunting for the elusive panlid. Tracking people at KPQ/LPQ. Spotting a GM. Camping Mushmom and Jr. Balrog. Getting frustrated with people who said "barlog." Creating a thief just to explore Ludi with dark sight. Watching thieves die to crimson rogs. Following Dillinger around and watching him&his wife grind at grims. Gaching a glowing whip (valued at 1.5b at the time) and losing it in a drop game. Pretty sure it was one of the first ones in Windia. Oops. Actually being needed to keep the party alive at bosses (I mained a bishop). Being a part of an amazing and highly respected guild (MINT). Conquering zakum and horntail for the first time. Taking first-page ranks with the RL homies in ElNido and Arcania. First zakum of Arcania. 7 days after server launch. 4 of us at 13x. Everyone except me died on the 3rd body. I solo'd the rest as an I/L mage. The whispers I got when I item-smega'd that first zak helm... The incredible friends I made and unfortunately lost contact with. Still get teary-eyed looking at old screenshots. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? When I realized I could no longer progress my characters and enjoy the game without spending a significant amount of money on miracle cubes. How badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? I would still be playing GMS if it didn't exist. I didn't mind paying $30 a month for 2x coupons (in fact it motivated me to work and make money as a minor). But soon after the Big Bang patch, I realized you literally had to spend several hundred dollars a month (or merch, which I absolutely despise) on miracle cubes. I dipped and have never gone back.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? I started playing in my early high school years – back when Aqua Road first came out What are some of your favorite memories? Intense clicking, followed by a black screen, followed by 30 minutes of glorious Ludi PQ Making friends with other Maplers, Maplestory was more about making friends and exploring with them What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I stopped because of my exams, and also because when I came back a few months later – everything had changed – all my friends were gone, no my-aged people in sight and it had no more community feel to it. Back then, Maplestory wasn’t just a game, it was a home for me and my friends to visit whenever we wanted an escape. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? I had no cash and I liked it, goes to show that the people who I made friends with weren't vain. Although I did somewhat envy those who did have NX, but it made my memories even more vibrant.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? I started with EMS in late 2009, the Christmas (I think). What are some of your favorite memories? - Hanging around in HHG1 selling snowpieces for 1k each. - Getting a free ludi hair cupon REG which made me look ugly. - PQing. - Thinking that I could stack 2x cards (lost 1k nx that day :C). - Watching the crogs arriving at Orbis boat in the little place, then going back into the ship shouting "ROGS!!!!". - Henehoing. - Getting married in EMS lmao some guy married me ok don't ask. - Thinking I could kill zakum at lvl 50, so I gathered a bunch of lvl 50 friends and we went down and did the Zak prequests :3 What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I needed something that actually could both be fun and competetive at the same time, not just struggle, p2win and competetive at the same time. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? The cash shop did not ruin it, more like the current items in it that boosts it. P2W at finest. I give it a 11 though. lol yolo
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? Checked my NX purchases on nexon recently, turns out I started playing early 2009 instead of 2008 What are some of your favorite memories? I used to scam people outta fame by going to KPQ and shouting that I'll drop my staff (holding a Maple Wisdom Staff) if I get x amount of fame I would then drop an Old Wooden Staff (level 10) and skedaddle Within a couple weeks, I went from somewhere under 20 fame to 425 fame I logged on ONCE in 2011 and bought a shop permit with some maple points that was compensation from a rollback a few years ago I dced in the middle of the night with my shop open and never logged back in Spoiler Also, I befriended two girls, xXSaRaHdXx and KaseyLeigh when I was 13, and tried to creep them out/"troll" them as much as possible to see how far I could go before they unfriended me I ran into Sarah at Twisted Jesters a while later and reached to my number keys to use heal and accidentally pressed F3, looked like a real stalker there Sarah/Kasey, if for whatever reason you join Royals and read this, I'm sorry What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I used to be the guy who saved EVERY EVENT ITEM, I think I still have some books from that book drive event Once I stopped playing for a while, so much had happened that I couldn't go back without feeling behind I joined Extalia in 2011 to try and get the feeling back, but I ended up feeling behind in that as well A while back I was looking for an early version server that had a Blue Maple Bandana and the two servers I tried (MapleSwitch and some v55 one) they were both donor-only I saw Royals and thought I'd go check it out, as the banner said the beta recently ended And what do you know, I now have enough Maple Bandanas to take down an elephant On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? Honestly, I don't think the Cash Shop ruined the game, just the way Nexon handled it and handled the gachapon I look on Basil and Hidden Street and so many items are "retired"; meaning they're no longer obtainable, but still in the game and some people's inventories Some of those items are old gachapon items, event-only items, and iTCG items If Nexon kept ways for those items to be obtained in-game, I'm sure people wouldn't be resenting the Cash Shop as much as they do now On the subject of nx outfits, it's totally outrageous KMST has permanent items in the cash shop, and GMS had a deal like that that ended a few years back (still have my permanent Transparent Hat) post your characters you shits
Remember the sleepywood.net homepage art with the guy in the sauna? Loved that place. I've been off and on since 04 - it's frustrating how complicated it is to get back into things now.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? I started around 7 years ago I believe, maybe 6. I was 11 or 12. I started on GMS and played Khaini. I played it for about a year more or less then moved to private servers. What are some of your favorite memories? Well, mostly they were from interactions with others. I don't think the game was worth much besides bringing fellow Maplers together. Mostly they consist of my online girlfriends, the friends I have made and kept, and of how it changed me as a person- I would definitely be a different person had I not been subjected to this monstrosity of a game. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I lost appeal in the game early on, and private servers offered all of the hard to get stuff for free. Two girls invited me to join them on a quest into the private server world, and I decided why the hell not? Private servers are even better than GMS, because people actually talk to each other outside of guilds. You make real friendships and have a good time just chilling instead of going on the next boss run or GPQing. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? It was there when I started. I thought it was fine. If you want to spend money to look nice, fine by me. I was never a fan of the pay to win aspect though. So I guess a 9.2, on a scale of 9 to 10. You can go about the game without it just fine.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? Probably at the age of 11 or 12. I made a Warrior and ended up stopping at 21, and eventually came back to make a 91 Crusader. I gave my friend my account info to help me on a JQ, and he deleted my character. RIP. What are some of your favorite memories? Going to be quite honest, I had the most fun during Odin/OldDestiny. In gMS, Big Bang was very fun with my friends. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? The servers were sued, so they were forced to shut down. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? It didn't, so 9. The game hasn't aged well at all. No one wants to grind super long with a low reward. The endgame was a joke as well. The 90 day limit is the only thing I could complain about it. Cubes weren't always needed, as events gave most of the players enough damage as is. Most people don't get this and just throw stupid shit at Big Bang when it made the game a bit better.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? I actually started playing around 2005-2006. I was pretty young then, I literally never could make it past level 30 properly. What are some of your favorite memories? Honestly, my favourite moments was when I started developing and learning how the emulator worked. It was really entertaining modifying code knowing I could make about anything I wanted by learning programming. But besides that, my favourite moments was when I started meeting friends I still am in contact with now. Those were the best memories I had in MapleStory. What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I switched to private servers initially to just to play an easier version of the game. Then, I learned about high-rate servers and I thought it was entertaining playing every single job and having multiple skills from multiple jobs at once. I started playing popular ones such as FarmerStory back in 2009-2010 and it was probably the best moments of my MapleStory life. I stopped playing (I don't even go on Royals that much tbh) because it got boring. I experienced all the things I wanted to. I developed many sources. I don't even find developing that fun anymore. The fun in the development scene is gone since the developers that actually contributed are gone. People are probably wondering why I don't contribute. The reason is simple: leechers beyond leechers. The amount of leechers is well beyond the amount of people dedicated to actually learning now. Well, since I've been talking only about developing, I can probably say I quit private servers after playing FarmerStory for approximately a year or two (the v75 and v83 ones) and came back to play some other servers but that was for a short period of time. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? To be honest with you, it's not really the cash shop that ruined the game. It was more like what they added to the cash shop and what they added to equips. Potentials, etc. are probably the worst additions they added to the game. It was interesting at first, but it came to be too pay to win. There's obviously a P2W aspect in every free to play game but there's a certain extent to how far it should go. What really ruined the game was more like Big Bang and how they made the game too easy and too solo play oriented. You don't even have to be in parties to level. Before big bang, you had to be party quest and what not to level up quickly. For bosses, you definitely needed to help each other. Those were the fun moments and what the game should be about, but they changed it.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? Well, I was gr.3, and i'm gr.12 now, soooooooo 8-9 years ago? What are some of your favorite memories? This can be an essay of 5000+ words, but i'll keep it short and sweet. It took me a week to get our of Maple Island when I started, mesos were a treasured item and actually held a lot of value for the newbies which couldn't even afford pots. I think the difficulty for new players is the difficult exp curve, avoidability of monsters, pot cost, lack of mesos even for pots, and how hard it is to get into a party quest. Party quests were the best option BECAUSE WE WERE TOO POOR. They costed the least amount of pots for the exp given, and the exp given is very good too. My favorite memories are as followed: 1. Maple Island, I remember the island swarmed full of noobs trying to figure their way out, getting killed by orange mushrooms and pigs. Going in as a group just to man-handle the mighty orange mushroom for some nice exp. It actually took me forever to get out, but it was extremely fun. 2. Placing too much str because it gave damage, then realize i miss everything outside of victoria island. THOSE STUPID Jr. NEKIS, I SWEAR I WILL HIT YOU SOMEDAY (even at level 35 I miss them because of their insane avoid) 3. KPQ/LPQ, man, those were the days, the golden days. "R>PQ 25+@@@@..." "J>PQ HAVE TRACKKKKK@@" "R>25+ MAGE (Just because they had insane accuracy and sustained damage in comparison to all other classes)" Writing down every party member just to see if they are a track the next day with /find. Having common tracks with 4-5 parties outside waiting with the leader as the fastest clicker (usually me). Staying at bonus and sending scouts out just to see if people are waiting and stuff, running out to use Nimble feet to click ASAP. LPQ was so damn fun, the need for range, everyone getting killed by Alishar, the darkness monsters having 340+ exp so people kept calling the room with 2. HP Warriors tanking the Dreaded golem with power guard and hyper body. Bonus stage ethics when people hit the same box and steal that high def cape. Man those were the days, when co-operation is a must with range and dark sight is a requirement. I dream of a day that day might return. Friends were well-kept, I still remember scoobydoo98, a man from 7 years ago that gave me a 7+ Zard, most treasured possession I had then. 4. I once travelled down to the bottom of eos tower to see what lives beyond the toy world at level 21 as a warrior, by using endure and waiting on ladders, got to the bottom, realized there's aliens which I can't hit. And tried to climb back up, couldn't get back up because going up is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy harder than going down (even though there was no down+Space back then). Eventually I tried to scam by saying i'll give you 2m for 4 eos scrolls, and sicne rarely anyone comes, it's a rare chance and they always see through it. But eventually a kind man gave me 4 eos rock scrolls for free. I forgot his ign but I will forever be in debt <3 5. I travelled to aquarium with a low level i/l mage, he was the mobber with the lower dmg lightning, and we made big mobs of bubble fish etc. Just for me to slashblast and kill. That was one of the most enjoyable moments I ever had. 6. I was quite the quester back then, I completed too many quests, it was very enjoyable and also gave exp. I had many items that no one else had because of it (Scuba Tank ftw) #QuesterPride What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? The first time I tried a private server was because a friend recommended it, it was this 200x exp server and had rebirths, it was fun for a while, but eventually got really boring cause it had no community activity. Afterwards I went to FarmerStory, that server was amazing, it was fun and tbh on par with MapleRoyals in terms of community and events. But it was shut down by nexon :c And I went back to GMS, after a long long long time I suddenly had the random urge to go back on GMS and played for a while, it got boring really fast. Getting to level 18x meant nothing now. People "race" to level 200 within 1-2 days. How is this fun anymore? Level 250 is just insane. So I went to search for servers and eventually found this one. This server is amazing, community and event-wise. (NOW IF ONLY I CAN GET MY HANDS ON A SPECIFIC CHAIR *COUGH* MUDKIP *COUGH*) On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? Tbh, I would give it a 3, it was fine at the beginning, I bought some nx items, eventually perm nx because only perm is worth it in the long run. But after Big Bang, it was just screwed up. BIG TIME Now it's like 10/10
When did you start: Started in 2006 when my friend introduced the game to me during it's 1 year aniversary. It was due to peer pressure back at the time so I kinda joined the hype train along with my friends. Favourite memories: Hosting Amoria pq, hosting GPQ and Zakum runs with the guild (Odyssey ftw -Bera-), and meeting ms friends irl for the first time. p.s. a group of us still play LoL together. What made you quit: I was getting competitive with the game, and always tried to keep a screenshot of my range on BasilMarket as the highest for Shadowers. And so when rings were first introduced in the game (you had to gach for their parts) I felt my motivations die and so I sold my gears in the mts for 1200k nx and moved to DFO. How much did cash shop ruin ms: 7/10 I didn't mind cosmetic items, clothings, nor exp/drop boosts, but what killed the game for me was the fact that you had to gach for parts of an item rather than the item itself.
When did you FIRST start playing Maplestory (the real game)? Since it all began. What are some of your favorite memories? 133 221 333 123 111 What made you stop and/or switch to private servers? I was just curious about what they would be like. On a scale of 9-10, how badly did the Cash Shop ruin the real game? Not much really. Maybe like a 7, but back when the cursor was a buttload more cool than the stupid glove we have now; it didn't really matter.
